Past Meets Future
by TheSkandranon
Summary: Future Trunks comes to visit his friends in the past and comes across a strong energy, he goes to check it out and finds a young woman who is not only physically strong, but also strong willed.
1. Who is This?

**A/N: I'm a little embarrassed to post this story. Not because it's a bad story, or because I don't like the couple, but because it's a crossover, and I don't usually care for crossovers, and also I rp as Tatsuki on FB, and this is the story about how my Tatsuki and my rp husband Trunks, met. This actually happened in rp between the two of us, and I put it into fanfic mode. Hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I had rping it.**

* * *

Trunks loved to fly. He's done it whenever he could after his master, Gohan, taught him how. He was in the past, (it was to him anyways) to visit his Z Fighter friends. Who, in his time, were all dead. He was almost to Master Roshi's place when he felt a strong energy.

He stopped in wonder since it was very strong for a human, even if it wasn't much compared to a Saiyan. He wondered who could be producing such strong energy for a human so he went to check it out.

He flew a little high so he wouldn't attract a lot of attention, but he soon came upon a small city; too big to be a town, but not an oversized city. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, he could feel the energy getting nearer and nearer, and finally he felt where it was coming from; but not who.

There were a group of guys in an alley way fighting in a brawl. It seemed to be against either one person, or a small group, but he couldn't tell at the moment. He decided to observe for now, see where the fight goes. If it looked like they needed some help, he'll help them.

All of a sudden several people in one area are kicked to the ground and he could see who was in the center, and he was appalled. It was a girl! All these guys fighting a girl? Sure, girls can be strong fighters, Videl being obvious proof of that, but this was a totally unfair fight.

He jumped down and landed in front of her. Everyone paused in shock at a new person entering the fight.

"What are you guys doing? Fighting a girl, and at such odds? You should be ashamed of yourselves. If you need a gang to fight one person, how about fighting me?" Trunks took off his jacket and lowered himself slightly into his fighting stance. With his jacket off the guys could see how muscular he was, they looked at each other for a few seconds then grinned as one of the guys stepped forward pulling his shirt sleeve up showing his bicep.

Trunks smirked a little, sure he had decent muscles, but his power level was low, nothing compared to the energy he felt earlier. Then he felt someone try and kick his knee from behind, but his knee held and he looked behind him to see who would do such a cheap shot. He was surprised to see that it was the girl. She was standing behind him with an angry look on her face, very angry.

"What do you think you're doing? I'm teaching these jerks a lesson. Back off."

He stared at her a little surprised at her attitude, but then one of the guys tried to grab her from behind, and she grabbed his wrist and using his forward momentum flipped him over her hip and he landed on his back, winded. Then another guy kicked at Trunks' abs and he grabbed the guy's leg.

"If you think I'm going to leave one person, especially a girl, to fight alone against this mob, you're got another thing coming."

"I don't need anyone's help. Least of all some guy I don't even know who might try and jump me after the fight when I'm all worn out."

"I wouldn't do that to anyone, and if you were worn out from fighting these weaklings, you aren't much of a fighter."

"What? Take that back!"

They carried on arguing while they were fighting the gang. And even though he was arguing with the girl, Trunks could tell that she was a very capable fighter, especially for her age. She only looked about 17 or so, possibly 18, but he didn't think so.

After they were done, she was panting a little with a smug look on her face. "Now you guys know who you face if you ever bother innocent people again, especially any of my friends."

He looked at her and grinned, and she grinned back. Then she seemed to catch herself and looked away. "Told you I didn't need any help."

"I never said you did," he walked over to where he left his jacket and picked it up from the ground. He dusted it off some, then put it on.

* * *

Tatsuki watched the guy wearily as he went to retrieve his jacket. She still wasn't sure she could trust him. The way he moved showed he was a fighter, and a very good one too since she didn't take him down with her kick, and she didn't see a single scratch on him as a result of the fight either, though his short lavender hair was a little disheveled, which he fixed by running his fingers through his hair from his forehead to the back of his head.

"If you didn't think I needed any help, then why did you."

"At first glance, I couldn't see you were a fighter. I just figured it was a bunch of guys trying to take advantage of a girl. But I would help someone with those odds against them. Whether they needed it or not. It goes against my pride as a fighter to not do that."

Tatsuki stared at him for a while, then caught herself and turned away. "Hmph, I see," she started to walk away.

That was odd, he seemed to have the same kind of view that she had. It's rather a rare view to find really.

She started walking away, "Well thanks, even if I didn't need it." What an odd guy, but then she'll probably never see him again. At least that is what she thought till she heard his footsteps running after her.

"Hey, mind if I walk with you for a while?"

She looked at him, wondering if he's trying to walk her home. "Why?"

"Just to talk, there aren't many girl fighters with your skill."

Ok, she could handle that reason, "Alright, what do you want to talk about?"

"How long have you been training?"

"Since I was 4, and you?"

"Since even before that. I was kinda forced to."

She looked at him, he sounded a little depressed and angry about that reply. "Why?"

"Oh, various reasons," he looked into the sky, seeming to be fascinated by the clouds that hung lazily there.

Obviously there was a painful story there, she wondered what it was, but she never was the type to pry into someone's painful past.

"I see, so who trained you?"

"My master Gohan. He trained me until a few years ago, then I trained myself."

"It's hard to train yourself."

"Tell me about it."

They continued to talk about martial arts and training as they walked. She didn't really have anywhere to go today, she had expected her fight with the gang to last longer, so she didn't make any plans. So she wasn't sure on what to do. But she enjoyed this conversation. She didn't really get any kind of chance to really talk martial arts with someone. To them, martial arts was just a hobby, or a way to defend themselves, or even a way to bully. To her, it was her life. It was her dream to be a vale tudo master, and she worked hard to achieve it.

* * *

This girl was amazing. He had never met another girl who just wanted to be a martial artist. It seemed she did almost nothing else. He was glad he sensed her power and came here. It's true that he really shouldn't interact with people in the past much, but maybe he could visit her whenever he came to visit his other friends.

He was thinking this when a strange screech like scream came from the sky, and a high pressure forced down a little afterwards. It didn't faze him all that much, but the girl staggered just a tiny bit then stared into the sky off to the left.

"Ah damn!" She started running in that direction, what was she doing? And what was that?

"Hey!" he started running after her, quickly catching up. "What is it?"

"Nothing, I have to go now." He paused, stunned. Huh? What was going on? He then chased after her, but stayed behind her

They soon came to what looked to be the town square and he saw an enormous white monster with a white mask, and hole in its chest. "What is that thing?"

Tatsuki looked at him with surprise written all over her face. "You can see it?"

"Of course I can, why wouldn't I?" But now that he looked around, no one seemed to be reacting to it. That is until it tried to snatch at something and hit a building in the process. People started screaming as they seemed to try and figure out what happened. What was going on, why couldn't anyone else see it?

"Everybody run," he turned towards Tatsuki; she was trying to get people out of the area. He expected her to go and fight the monster, but she never did. He could hear her muttering under her breath, "Never a shinigami around when you need one. Where is that damn strawberry?"

Strawberry? How would a strawberry help? Whatever "C'mon girl, let's take it down."

"No, there is nothing we can do about it. Ordinary people like us can't take a hollow. The best we can do is just try and protect everyone else." As she said it he could hear a slightly bitter tone to her voice.

Well, maybe she couldn't do anything about the thing, but he could. He started running towards it and he could hear her yell at him to stop him but he ignored her. By this time the area was mostly deserted so he felt ok in using his abilities against it. He kicked at it full force and it went flying against a building. Oops, he really should be careful of the town.

The monster, the girl had called it a hollow, spoke. "Hey, what do you think you think you're doing? I'm going to kill you for that." It swiped at him and he just held up his arm and blocked it without it even budging from the blow. He glared at the hollow as it grunted in surprise. The thing didn't seem to show emotion on its face.

"No, the only thing dying here today is you." He built up some of his ki in his hand and formed an energy ball. When it was built up sufficiently, he smashed the ball into its mask, which ended up covering it's entire body, with a yell. After the energy from the hit dissipated, the hollow was disintegrating. Now that was different, is that what always happened?

He sighed and turned towards the girl, who was gaping at him in shock.

* * *

**A?/N: Sorry that the fight at the end was rather lame, but it is a low level hollow so not much of a challenge for Trunks, but was enough to surprise Tatsuki. And to those who follow my fanfics, don't worry. I am going to complete all my other fanfics**

**Read and Review please, I would like to hear what you guys think.  
**


	2. Explanations

**A/N: Sorry for the late update people. Had a really bad writers block. Couldn't do anything really. Well I hope you all enjoy**

* * *

Ah shoot, he kinda forgot that the girl was right there. He rubbed the back of his head with his hand and looked away from her.

"How did you do that?"

"Ummm…"

"Don't you dare lie to me!"

He looked back at the girl and saw a chocolate colored evil glare. He's seen that before from his mother, except from her it was blue.

He sighed, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"You'd be surprised at what I would believe."

As he contemplated on what to say a guy in a black outfit with orange spiky hair and a sword that looked like a giant butcher knife and was as long as he was tall on his back landed in front of the girl from the sky. Could the guy fly like he could?

"Tatsuki, you alright? What happened, I sensed a hollow in the area. But from the look of things it's gone. Did Afro take care of it for once?"

"No, that guy did," she pointed at him, "with his bare hands too."

The orange haired guy looked at him then looked at her again, "You mean this purple haired freak?"

"Hey, who's a freak? Look at yourself, what's with that outfit?"

The guy looked at him again with surprise written all over his face, "What? You can see me?"

The girl sighed, "Well duh Ichigo, if he could see the hollow to defeat it, it would stand to reason he could see you."

"I guess you have a point there. So who is he anyways?"

"I don't know actually, he interrupted a fight I had with some gang wannabes then stuck around. Don't ask me why."

"He interrupted your fight? And he's still alive? Wow, you've learned how to restrain yourself."

"Watch it, or you're next on my list."

Trunks had had enough of being talked about like he wasn't here. "Hey, I'm right here you know."

They looked at him and he folded his arms, "And what's the business about being able to see you anyways? You're as plain as day."

The guy apparently called Ichigo rubbed the back of his head, "Well most people can't see me when I'm like this." Then he seemed to realize something and turned to the girl, but pointing at him. "Hey wait a second, Tatsuki, did you say he took out the hollow with his bare hands?"

"Oh, did you just catch that? Yeah, he created a ball of golden energy in his hand, smashed the hollow in the mask with it, and killed it."

Ichigo turned towards him, "How did you do that? Are you a kido user?"

Huh? "What's kido?"

"Apparently not. Well if you didn't use kido, then how did you kill the hollow?"

"I just formed my ki into my hand."

"Ki?"

"My energy."

"You're reiatsu?"

"Huh?"

The girl, apparently Tatsuki, sighed. "Ok Ichigo, this is getting us nowhere, how about you go save some other helpless people, and I'll talk to him, ok?"

Both Ichigo and I look at her in surprise, then Ichigo sighed. "All right Tatsuki, maybe a one on one talk would be best. Good luck." With that, he jumped into the air, jumping from building to building. Maybe he couldn't fly, just jump enormous lengths.

"Sorry about him, he's a nice guy, but in some ways he really is an idiot."

"Yeah, I noticed that." Trunks turned back to her. "So your name's Tatsuki?"

"Yeah, sorry I never introduced myself. I'm Tatsuki Arisawa. What's yours?"

"Trunks Briefs."

She raised her eyebrow in skepticism, "That's your name?"

"Yeah, something wrong with it?"

"Why in the world did your parents name you after some underwear?"

"How would I know, and for your information I like my name?"

She stared at him incredulously, "Well whatever floats your boat I guess. Anyways, let's go somewhere else for this discussion. I don't want people hearing us and it looks like the law enforcement is coming to investigate. Better to not be here to be questioned."

Trunks looked around and realized Tatsuki was right, people were starting to gather around and wondering what had happened to cause all the damage. And he didn't really want to be stuck around here for hours being questioned for answers he wasn't willing to give.

"Alright, where should we go?"

"Follow me," she started walking towards the east with a fast, but casual walk. He followed her at the same pace. "How long will it take to get to where we're going?"

"It's be about 20 minutes to a little used park, it's not far."

20 minutes, that seemed to be a bit long. He made some quick decisions. After they walked a couple blocks, he acted swiftly since he knew she wouldn't like this.

He came up right behind her and leaned down and put pressure on the back of her knees and let her shoulders fall into his other arm.

"Hey! What…."

He didn't even give her enough time finish her demand/question before he was in the air flying with her in his arms.

* * *

She wasn't expecting Trunks' move to pick her up since she wasn't prepared for it.

She gasped and wrapped her arms around his neck. What's going on? How the hell was he flying? Not even Ichigo and his shinigami friends could do that.

"Hey, what are you doing? Put me down." When he didn't respond she started struggling and hit his jaw, which felt like a brick.

"Please don't make me drop you."

She stopped struggling after that and didn't say anything more for a couple minutes.

"So where is the park you mentioned?"

She was surprised for a second; she had half-forgotten where they were going. She then looked ahead of them and her eyes widened. The ground was at least twenty feet below them and the view was breath taking. The sky was mostly bare of clouds and was an even more amazing shade of blue than it was on the ground.

She felt Trunks smile a little and he slowed down, giving her more time to look around.

That brought her attention back to where it was supposed to be and she pointed towards the empty park.

Trunks started to descend and wrapped her arm around his neck again to brace herself.

She felt the air around her still as Trunks feet landed firmly on the ground. It took her a moment to process that they had arrived then struggled out of his arms.

He set her down gently and she scrambled away, swaying a little.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said harshly. Probably a little too harshly as she saw him draw back in surprise.

She folded her arms, "Sorry, you caught me off guard and that tends to make me a little crabby."

"Alright, sorry. But I knew that if I warned you ahead of time, you would have punched me in the face, and this was quicker."

"Hmph, well that is true."

"But you ended up punching me in the face anyways."

She looked at him, "Didn't seem to bother you though."

He looked a little uncomfortable at the statement and knew she found something to take his mind off of her.

She didn't want to admit that she enjoyed the flying. She's never ridden with any of the shinigami when they shunpoed, so that was her first time. And it was amazing. But her pride wouldn't let her admit that.

"So what are you? You take out hollows with your bare hands, you can fly, and can take one of my punches without even flinching. No one can do that, at least no ordinary one."

"Ok, ok, ok, I'll tell you. But first would you mind telling me what are hollows and what that guy meant about seeing him?"

"Well, I guess so. It won't take long to explain. Hollows are dead tortured souls that have passed on, but haven't, as most regular humans would say, 'crossed over to heaven'. At one time, that hollow you killed was just a normal ghost, but had lost its heart to the negative feelings dwelling within him."

"Wait, that thing I killed was once a human?"

"Yes, but once it's transformed into a hollow it can't go back, so killing them really is the only way to get rid of them. So don't feel like you murdered someone or something."

Hmm, interesting. He seemed concerned that he killed someone, but he's an exceptionally skilled fighter. Most fighters she's talked to are ruthless and just want to be the strongest and will do anything to do it.

"So that's what a hollow is. The idiot you saw is named Ichigo. He's what's known as a shinigami. Shinigami go around fighting hollows. Normally Ichigo is a human, but he also has gained shinigami powers."

"How did he do that?"

"That's a story for another time. I told you about the questions you had, your turn."

He looked a little uncomfortable, it seemed that he didn't talk about himself a lot.

"C'mon, I'll believe you."

"Alright, I'm an alien."

* * *

**A/N: Please leave some constructive critisism. That means more to me than just a good job, or bad job or whatever**


	3. Train Me

She stared at him blankly for a few seconds, "An alien?"

Ok, she can honestly say she wasn't expecting that one. She had never been into sci-fi because the whole weird looking aliens coming down to earth to destroy it never really appealed to her. But this guy didn't look like them.

"Yeah, well. I guess I'm actually only half an alien. My mother is from Earth, my dad is from the planet Vegeta."

"Vegeta, never heard of it. You don't look like an alien. You look normal."

"Saiyans and humans look the same. Except one thing."

"And what is that?"

"Males also have a tail."

"They do?" She walks around to his back. "I don't see a tail." But he does have a nice backside.

He turned towards her and rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, well I had mine removed. It was causing problems."

"Probably had trouble fitting in and stuff." Wait, did she really believe this? Shinigami and stuff are the paranormal, aliens is sci-fi. Totally different.

"Yeah, something like that."

She looked at him skeptically and he sighed a little.

* * *

Trunks should have known that she'd have problems believing him, even though she said she would.

After all, it's not everyday someone who looks human to claim to be an alien. And he couldn't prove that he did have a tail besides revealing the scar, and he didn't really want to do that. There was really only one thing he could do.

"Alright, since I can see you don't really believe me, I'll show you something that not even humans who are taught by saiyans can do."

After he said that, he started drawing upon the power inside him slowly. He went slow so that she could see the process at least a little. After a few seconds his hair started fluttering in the energy he was gathering up, then his hair turned blond and his blue eyes turned a turquoise color as golden energy flowed around him.

Tatsuki gasped and took a step backwards. "Whoa."

She cautiously took a step forward and stretched out her hand slowly. He wasn't sure what she was going to do until her hand entered in the energy around him and stopped.

"Wow, it feels weird. I kinda expected a jolt of energy like lightning or something like that."

Hmm, interesting. Not only did she not scream, but she came forward expecting some kind of pain, but went ahead with touching his energy anyways. Obviously she wasn't afraid of getting hurt, but then he should have expected that.

He reached up his hand and gently touched the tips of his fingers with hers to show that he still felt the same as before.

She looked up at him and he gave her a soft smile. She smiled back and pulled her hand away. "Alright, I believe you now."

He lowered his energy and turned normal again, "Good, now that's taken care of. I'm guessing you're just a human, not a shinigami I think you called them?"

She sighed a little, as if she wasn't happy with the answer, "Yeah, I'm just a simple human. I do have more reiatsu than other humans or I wouldn't be able to see shinigami or hollows. But it's not enough for me to do anything."

Obviously she didn't like that fact. And from what he can see of her, he's not surprised. She's not the type to sit on the sidelines while others are in danger. And it must grate on her that she didn't have the strength to help someone who is her friend.

But still, "Umm, reiatsu?"

"Oh, sorry. I guess that wasn't part of the explanation was it?" He shook his head, "Well reiatsu is the word we use for energy. More reiatsu we have, more energy, and the more we can use it. Some people have a lot of it, like Ichigo and a few other friends of mine, but most people don't have enough to even see the hollows."

"Oh, I guess it's what I call ki." He raised his hand and formed a small ball of energy there.

"Kinda, but I've never seen anyone just form a ball in their hands like that. Not even Uryuu."

"I'm guessing that's another shinigami friend of yours."

"Well, not exactly. For one thing he's more of an acquaintance of mine then a friend, and he's not a shinigami. I'm not even going to try to explain him, he's complicated."

He laughed, "Alright then. If ever I meet him and if he looks interesting, I can talk to him."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

"So what now?"

"You said that your people can teach humans how to do the things you do?"

"Most things, yes."

"Like what?"

"Practically anything except turning blond like I did just now. That's what's called a Super Saiyan. Humans can do the other things too, just at a smaller scale since saiyans are a lot stronger than humans."

"Saiyans huh? That's what you're called?"

"Well, half saiyan. My mother is human."

"Close enough. So you can teach humans to fly, and form that energy ball that you killed the hollow with?"

"Yes."

"Teach me."

He knew she was going to ask that. Or rather demand it.

He folded his arms, "And why should I teach you?

That took her by surprise; did she really think that he would just hand that power it over to her? Especially after just meeting her?

"I don't teach just anyone you know."

"I hate being just a human when the people I'm closest to can do so much more than me. I used to be the one protecting them, both Ichigo and Orhime. Now I'm suddenly the one that needs to be protected. They've passed me in almost any way I can think of. They even had the gall to not tell me about their powers till I was almost killed. And even then they weren't the ones to tell me. If there is a way for me to not be left behind any more, then I will take it. Even if it means learning from someone I just met."

He shook his head, "No, not a good enough answer."

"What?"

"I am not going to hand this power to you just to sooth your pride, because that is what it sounds like. I can tell you're a good person, but even the best person can become corrupted if they don't use their powers the right way."

* * *

Her pride? Is that all that he saw? She just wanted to be on equal footing as Ichigo. To not feel like she is just extra baggage and that… Wait, maybe that's what he meant. If she were to get the power, then the person that would be benefitting most is her. Sure others would be saved, but she wouldn't be doing it for them. She would be doing it for her. Ichigo fights to protect others, not so that he can feel that he's equal or more powerful than others.

She sighed and lowered her head, "You're right, the reason I have wanted to be stronger is so I can sooth my own pride. I never realized that till now. I really can't be trusted with that kind of strength, I'll just go now. It was nice meeting you."

She turned and started walking away. But she didn't go more than two steps before she felt his hand on her shoulder stopping her.

"That was the right answer. If you had denied what I had said, then I would have known for sure you really couldn't be trusted. But to admit a weakness takes a great inner strength, which someone with true pride would deny. I'll teach you."

What? She turned her head to look at him, and saw that he was smiling softly, and that he was serious. "But…. Are you sure?"

"Yes, but not today. I have some people I need to see. I don't know when I'll be able to come back to train you. But I promise I will."

She turned the rest of the way to face him, "You're serious, you'll train me?"

"Yes, I'll be back sometime soon."

She smiled, "Thanks, and I'll work on the pride thing."

"I know you will, goodbye Tatsuki."

He floated into the sky and waved. Then he was gone.

* * *

**A/N: Ok, here is the long awaited third chapter. Sorry it took so long everyone. I was trying to finish another fanfic of mine. I did finish it though, so I'm hoping to be able to work on this one a lot faster now.**

Ok, so I know not much really happens in this chapter. But Tatsuki does learn something about herself, and gets a promise to be trained.

**Read, review please. I also would love some criticism here, not just you guys saying you liked/hated it. Please tell me why  
**


	4. Finally

After Trunks had left Tatsuki, he left to go to the house of Master Roshi, where he sensed everyone was gathered at. He had a lot to discuss with them, like how come they never told him about hollows. Maybe they started seeing them recently, or maybe they haven't seen them at all. From what Tatsuki said, not everyone can see them. But if he could see them, he didn't see any reason the others couldn't see them.

Well, he was going to find out.

That was his thought as he started flying over the ocean. It wasn't long after that that he saw the Kame House. Everyone was outside smiling and waving at him. He smiled a little and landed soon after that.

"Hey everyone, how've you been?"

Bulma went up to Trunks and rested a hand on his shoulder, "Things have been going great here. How have things been in the future?"

"Things are improving. We've been able to rebuild a lot of West City."

"That's great. So you don't have some kind of other emergency to warn us of?"

"Not this time, I just came to visit. But I do have some questions for you all."

Krillin asked, "Oh, what kind of questions?"

"Have you guys ever encountered something called a hollow?"

Tien answered with another question, "What are hollows?"

"Well, they seem to be monstrous creatures with white masks, black bodies, and holes in their chests."

"Oh yeah," said Gohan. "We've recently been encountering those strange monsters. So far they haven't been much trouble. Just need an energy blast to its face, and it's gone. But the weird thing is that no one else seems to notice them. Have you come across one?"

"Yeah, just a little while ago. Also, have you guys seen any people dressed in black with swords fighting them?"

Krillin folded his arms, "Now that you mention it, I did see someone like that come by after I defeated one. They seemed confused, looked around, then left."

"Well, I just learned they are called Shinigami." He then proceeded to tell them all that Tatsuki had told him.

Krillin rubbed the back of what was once a bald head, but now sported short black hair, "Wow, that's pretty deep."

Master Roshi looked at Trunks, "How did you learn all this?"

"Earlier today I met a girl that was friends with a Shinigami."

Yamcha smirked and lightly elbowed him, "Oh a girl huh? Was she pretty?"

Trunks blushed a little, "Yeah, she was pretty."

Yamcha laughed, "Maybe you should go for her then."

Trunks blushed a little more, "Why should I do that? I'm from a completely different time than her."

Tatsuki's mind spaced off as the sensei counted the roundhouse kicks her and her classmates kicked repeatedly. She's done it so many times in the past that it was reflex for her so she didn't need to pay attention.

Tatsuki hated waiting. She knew Trunks didn't say exactly when he'd come back to train her, but seriously, what could he be doing that took 3 whole days?

Ichigo had already asked her about him, but he looked skeptical when she told him. Even though he knew she wasn't the type to just believe anything. But when she told him about the transformation that Trunks called a Super Saiyan, he believed her.

He never was a fan of sci-fi either, plus he knew she didn't make up stories like that. And it was way too ludicrous for it not to be the truth.

So Ichigo was placated for now. She didn't tell him about Trunks training her, she wanted to surprise him when she was ready to. She couldn't wait to see his face when she defeated a hollow in front of…. and there she goes with the pride stuff again. She really needed to stop doing that.

She sighed and tried to concentrate on the sensei again. She really did need to pay attention even though she didn't really feel like she had to. Who knows, maybe something different will happen today in the dojo.

Trunks was finally able to return to Tatsuki's town He didn't even know the name of it. All he knew was that that was where she was at, and that he had agreed to train her.

So he quickly flew to the town, found a deserted ally way, and landed. Now he just had to find her again. He must have been rather absent minded earlier because he didn't ask her her address, her number, or any other way to contact her. So that left the old fashioned way, walk around and look. But he also had something over regular humans who have to resort to that plan.

He stepped out of the alley way and raised his awareness so that he could locate her energy.

It took about 2 hours to find her. Despite the fact that this town wasn't as large as the ones he's used to, it was big enough and he didn't know enough about the different locations, or her past times (besides street fighting) to know where she might be.

But he wasn't too surprised to see that when he did find her, she was in a martial arts dojo. But he was surprised to see that she was the only one in the dojo when he arrived. Usually people are only there when there's a class right? It seemed like she really took her fighting seriously.

He smiled a little because she was so involved with her self-training she didn't even notice him there. He took off his golden boots before entering then also removed his indigo Capsule Corp jacket, revealing his black tank top. After that he walked to the edge of the mat and waited for an opening.

As she moved her body for a right jab punch he jumped in and grabbed her hand with his left. He smirked at her astonished expression and balled his right hand into a fist and aimed a punch to her torso, making sure to control his movements and force of his strength to the human level.

Out of reflex she freed her right hand from his grip and blocked his punch, and then grinned with the challenge.

So started their sparring match. He quickly could tell that by human standards, she really was very good and she probably would go far in the Martial Arts Tournament that Goku and the others talked about. He had yet to experience the tournament because of the Androids and they haven't started it up again yet in the future.

But he could see the frustration starting to show on her face. It's probably because that he could dodge or block each of her attacks. She was probably used to being able to land a hit at least once. But he refused to deceive her into thinking that she could match him, and then find out later that she really couldn't, at least at the level she was now. So he decided to end it quickly with a sweep kick and as she landed on her back he aimed a punch to her face, but stopped it an inch before hitting her.

She laid there panting as she stared at him in shock. He smiled a little as he removed his hand. "You're very good."

"Not as good as I thought I was. I couldn't even touch you. And it doesn't even look like you're tired at all."

He sat down next to her and she just stared at the ceiling, "Well, being part Saiyan gives me certain advantages."

"Like what?"

"Great speed, endurance, and strength."

"How much of each do you have?"

"Compared to a full human, I'm not sure. I've never tried to measure. But I do know I can out match any human you can name."

"Ha, I'd like to see Sado's response to you then."

"Sado?"

"He's like the strongest man I know, and he isn't even out of his teens yet. Plus he's about a foot taller than you, and more muscular."

"Sounds interesting. Well are you done here?

She turned to look at him, "Are you going to start training me?"

"Yes."

She stood up stretching her arms up, "Took your time about it."

He stood up too, "Sorry, had to get some things ready."

"Took three days to do so?"

"Well I had to visit some friends, that's what I was doing in the area to begin with."

"I see. Well just let me lock up and I'll be ready."

"Don't you need to cool down so you don't cramp up?"

"The type of training you're going to give me won't require me to move?"

He smiled softly, "Not yet. Before I can teach you anything else I need to train you to reach into your energy first."

"I can partially do that already, but the way you do it is probably different. In that case, let me do some cool down exercises, and then take a shower, then I'll be ready to go."

"Alright, I'll wait by the door."

"Ok then," She didn't even give him a chance to move before she was stretching.

He walked over to the doorway and watched her as he put his boots and jacket on. It was amazing how flexible she was, not only could she have her hands flat on the ground as she stretched her legs, but she could also do the splits and touch her chest to the ground. He didn't really know of anyone else who could do that.

She quickly finished and then headed to a door in the corner of the room which he assumed were the showers. She turned towards him as she put a hand on the door. "I won't be long."

"Alright, I'll be here waiting." Inwardly he was thinking that he would be here a while, he knew how girls were about their showers. His mother thought herself rushed if she took 45 minutes in the shower.

She smiled slightly as he said that, then slid the door open and stepped into the other room.

She closed the door leading to the showers and sighed. Finally he was here, she was starting to wonder if he really had planned to come back at all.

She had been surprised to say the least when he stepped in on her self-training and challenged her to spar. But she enjoyed it, at least at first. When it became evident that she couldn't even land a punch, she got frustrated. It must have shown on her face because he ended it quickly afterwards. That showed to her more than about anything, that while sometimes he can look intimidating, he really was a nice and considerate guy.

And very good looking too. The last time she saw him she did think him nice to look at, but today he had taken off his jacket, revealing his well-muscled physique. She had never seen a male body like that. Most of the guys she's known, including Ichigo, had very slender figures. Ichigo had filled out, but he was still slender.

This Trunks guy, had not only muscles, but was rather broad too.

She caught herself smiling at the train of thought, and then shook her head exasperated at herself.

She was not an empty headed female to go gaga over some guy. She just wanted him to teach her so that she could get stronger, that's all she wanted.

She turned on the water and to let it heat up, and then took a shower just to rinse off the sweat and changed to her regular clothes with her hair still damp, so it stuck out a little more than usual.

She then picked up her jacket and then stepped outside. She was kinda amused to find Trunks lying out on the floor staring at the ceiling. Apparently he expected her to take longer than she did.

The noise of the closing door must have alerted him to her presence because he turned to her with surprise on his face.

"That was fast."

She smirked, "I told you I wouldn't be long. I'm not a typical girl to take half an hour in the shower. Especially here."

"Half an hour huh? My mother usually takes at the very least 45 minutes, and to her that's rushing it."

45 minutes? What the hell did she do in there for that length of time? Not that she really wanted to find out.

"Whatever, let's go."

He chuckled softly and stood up, "Alright, we need a secluded area, one that is even more deserted than the park we went to last time."

She raised her eyebrow, wondering if he realized what it sounded like he was asking for.

Then he blushed a little and she started laughing.

"Uh, I mean…..

"Nah, it's alright, I know what you mean. It was just kinda funny. Let's head out of town then. There are no empty areas here really."

He still seemed a little embarrassed as he turned his head away and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, sounds good then."

She smiled at his obvious mental state and walked by him outside, and he followed her.

* * *

**A/N: Ok, I know it's been a long time since I updated, but it really isn't my fault. My comp got some viruses (not major ones thank goodness) and I had to send it in to be repaired. Took about a week T.T**

**Then I also had a writers block in one area, hopefully the area really isn't noticeable, lol.**

**Anyways, I hope you like the start of the attractions that they are getting for each other, lol**

**Please leave a constructive criticism remark, I love hearing from you guys**


	5. The Beginning of Training

After they walked out, she closed the door and pulled out some keys and locked it.

"You have keys to the dojo?" Trunks sounded surprised.

"Yeah, sensei got tired of waiting for me to finish my own training so he gave me some keys making me promise to not break anything, and to always lock up before 8 o'clock."

"I see, he must trust you quite a bit then."

"Yeah, I was rather surprised when he gave them to me."

"Just means you're a good person."

She looked up at him surprised by that remark, "Well thanks."

"You're welcome. So do you have a certain place in mind for your training?"

"There is a slightly forested area about 5 miles out of town with a clearing. That would be a good place I think."

"Yes, that's a great sounding place." He turned to her and it looked like he was going to pick her up again, and she stopped him with her hand.

"Oh no. You've not going to be carrying me like that again. It feels too much like I'm a damsel in distress."

He looked surprised at first, then smirked slightly. "Well then how do you propose we get there, unless you have a car or something."

"No, but I can ride on your back if that's alright. I prefer that way."

"Alright then, hop on." He turned his back towards her and she smiled a little in victory then got on his back with her arms around his neck. This also felt a little intimate, but it was preferable to being carried like that.

And as Trunks flew into the air, she smiled wider. There was another reason she wanted to ride like that. It had always been a dream of hers to fly. She'd always envied the birds their wings and would lay by the river for hours just watching them flit across the sky so effortlessly.

If she were to be carried bridal style, she really wouldn't be able to see much. But if she rode on his back, not only would she be able to look around, but Trunks also wouldn't be able to see her reactions. She had never told anyone her secret desire, not even her family, or Orihime.

So as Trunks flew her in the direction she had indicated, she couldn't help but smile as she watched the scenery go by. The view was more beautiful than she ever imagined. The trees seemed more full of life than when she's on the ground, the emerald green of the leaves sparkled in the sunlight as the branches swayed gently in the light breeze.

She was so engrossed in the view that she almost forgot to tell him where to land, but she was able to point out the clearing before they passed it so Trunks shouldn't have noticed anything.

* * *

Trunks could sense that Tatsuki was very happy, he didn't know why he could sense that, but he could. He figured it must be something more than just his presence; she didn't seem to be this kind of happy before they took off. Then he smiled, it must be the flying. She must enjoy flying a lot. Well, when she learned how to fly, he knew she would take even greater pleasure in it.

His hunch was confirmed when she pointed to the clearing she was talking about a little late and he had to fly down steeply to be able to land.

After they landed and she got off his back she did seem to be a little flushed, but he didn't say anything since she must have not wanted him to know seeing that she didn't mention anything about flying.

"So, what do we do first?" Tatsuki asked him as she set her bag on the ground.

"Let's sit down. It'll be easier."

"Alright," she sat down cross legged, and he sat in front of her.

"First off, I'm going to do a demonstration of what I am going to teach you to do, so you know what it looks like."

He brought his hands close together in front of his chest and slowly brought some energy to his hands and formed that energy into a golden ball. Tatsuki's eyes grew wide and she leaned forward to look at it better. He smiled softly and let the ki stay there for a little while so she could get a good look at it, then released it.

"Wow, I didn't get a good look at what you did to the hollow the other day. But that looked amazing."

"I guess so, I grew up knowing about this energy so I don't really pay attention to how it looks. Now, this energy, which I and my friends call ki, is in every living being. Even regular humans have it, they just don't know they have it, let alone know how to access it. The energy mostly just stays dormant inside you until you call it. To do that, you need to be completely calm. Most people that we teach find it easier to meditate for a few minutes."

"Sounds good, I actually enjoy meditating. Good thing to do after a hectic day."

"Yes, I rather enjoy it myself."

She smiled at him and closed her eyes, placed her palms on her knees, and pressed her shoulders back and relaxed; she also set one foot in front of the other in the classic Burmese pose. Good, she already had a good meditating posture, so he didn't have to do anything there.

He maneuvered himself into the Lotus pose and closed his eyes. "As you meditate, listen to the center of your body. That is how you'd be able to sense then ki inside you. Once you feel it, try to direct it to your hands. That is how the energy is formed."

* * *

Dang, this is harder than it looked. She could sense her reiatsu inside her, but she's never tried to manipulate it before, at least not like this. She had tried some experiments before to see if she could do something with it to help Ichigo, but it mainly was to try and create a weapon of some sort, which obviously failed.

After several minutes she could feel it starting to move a little, this gave her hope but she didn't allow that feeling to distract her, she was going to do this. No matter what.

When she could feel a good amount of her energy in her hands she imagined it forming into a ball in her hands.

"You're getting close Tatsuki."

Encouraged by that remark Tatsuki continued to pull her energy to her hands, she could even feel sweat break out across her forehead, and then she could feel the energy in her hands and she opened her eyes. A small dark navy blue, almost a black colored ball of reiatsu circled in her hands.

Wow, she actually did it. Soon she would be able to control it how she wanted and be able to help protect others with it, like she used to protect Ichigo and Orihime.

A few seconds later the ball dissipated and she felt her energy drop dramatically as she started falling forward. She caught herself with her hands so she wouldn't fall all the way. How humiliating would that be?

"Tatsuki, you alright?"

She heard Trunks ask her, but was grateful he didn't try to help her. "I'm fine, it just took more energy than I thought it would."

"The first time is always the hardest. Your body just isn't used to it yet. I promise that it'll get easier. Let's take a break so you can rest a bit."

"No, I'm fine. Let's keep going."

He smiled, almost a smirk. "Alright then, stand up."

She did so, wanting to prove to him that she could handle it, but her legs felt wobbly and really couldn't support her weight. She fell back down to her knees.

"See, I told you that you need to rest. It's the way for all humans, no matter how strong they are."

She sighed, "Fine, you win." She laid down with her back on the grass and stared up at the sky. She saw the black and white plumage of a male Stonechant fly from one tree to another and smiled.

"The sky is beautiful isn't it?"

She turned her head and saw that he had lain down on the grass a little ways away from her. When did he do that? She hadn't heard him lay down.

She looked back up at the sky, "Yeah, it's amazing how it can be so clear in a light blue one minute, and the next be gray and clouded over."

"I've always imagined that someone was up there, and the sky reflected their mood. If they were sad, then a light rain would fall, devastation or anger would manifest themselves in hurricanes, tornados and the such. And happiness was when the sky was very clear."

"What about snow?"

"Hmmmm, I don't know. I haven't considered that one. I'd have to think about that one."

She smiled to herself. He really was different, not many people put personalities to things of nature, not that she hadn't done the same from time to time, just not like that. What's even stranger is that he actually told her. Most people would be scared to say things like that because what other's might think of them. Either he was very confident in himself and didn't care what others thought, or he felt he could trust her with a thought like that. She wasn't sure which she preferred. She really liked both ideas. It would take a strong man to have that much confidence in himself, and she liked it when others thought they could share their secrets to her.

* * *

Why did he tell her that? He didn't usually tell people that thought, not because he was concerned that they'd laugh at him, it doesn't matter what humans thought of him really. It's not like they could do anything to him. But that was one of his private amusements. He would sometimes think of reasons as to why the person in the sky would be feeling the way they do.

Maybe it was because of her and the strange connection he felt with her. She hadn't laughed at the idea; instead she challenged him with another sort of weather he hadn't considered before. She also was at ease around him, even knowing about him being a Saiyan. He always had hated having to hide his true nature from others when those times had come when the Androids were still around. She knew about him, and accepted him, so he didn't have to hide anything from her. It felt great.

"What are you thinking about?"

He turned his head towards her and saw that she was looking at him. She probably was watching him for a little while.

"Nothing," he sat up and reached into his jacket and pulled out his capsule case. He pulled out the capsule for the food he had packed, pressed the button to activate it, and then threw it. Tatsuki's eyes widened as the resulting cloud disappeared and a couple box lunches appeared.

"I packed some food since I knew you'd be using a lot of energy today."

"How'd you do that?"

"What?"

"You just pulled out something, pressed a button, and then the food appeared. How'd you do that?"

"You haven't heard of Capsule Corporation?"

"No, what's that?"

"Hmmm, I thought it was a worldwide company now. I guess not. DynoCaps have the ability to shrink virtually anything and store them. Making things easier to carry and travel."

"Really? What else do you have?"

"I'll show you later, first let's eat. I'm sure you're hungry.

His statement was confirmed as her stomach rumbled and she flushed.

He smiled softly and handed her one of the boxes of food.

Still obviously embarrassed she grabbed the box and opened it. The food was a wide variety of vegetables, with rice and yakiniku. She looked over at him, probably wondering if the food was the same, which it was. He handed her some chopsticks and he started eating.

They ate in silence at first, which Trunks didn't really mind. He'd always loved yakiniku and preferred to enjoy it in peace.

"This is very good."

"Thanks, I made it myself."

"You did?"

"Yeah, I wasn't sure on what you liked, so I'm glad you enjoy it."

"I haven't met a guy who wasn't in the food business who could cook like this. Or do you run a restaurant or something like that?"

"No, not even close really."

"Oh, what do you want to do then?"

"I'll probably end up running Capsule Corp in the future."

"Really? What makes you so sure?"

"It's our family business. My grandfather founded it."

"Wow, that's impressive. But you don't sound all that excited about running it."

He looked over at her, she really was observant. He wasn't sure how he felt about running the business when his mother really retired. He did have the intelligence for it, but is that all there is to his life? It just seemed rather constrictive and dull. Maybe that's his hot headed father's blood in him.

He looked back at his food, that was almost done, "I'm not sure yet."

"I see, well I've always wanted to be a vale tudo champion."

He looked over at her again, "You must study a lot of different kinds of martial arts then."

"Yeah, I've taken lessons in every one that I could find in Karakura Town, but there really isn't much more I can learn here. When I graduate from school I plan to travel around and learn more."

Karakura Town, well now he knew the name of the city.

They both finished their food about that time, "Well that's a good goal. I wish you luck. You ready to train some more under my instruction now?"

"Yeah, more than ready."

* * *

**A/N: For this chapter I watched the episodes where Gohan trained Videl how to fly several times. I just kinda reworded it and gave different ideas about how to bring out the ki.**

I'm also using the idea the Bleach idea that reiatsu is many different colors depending on the person, instead of the kind of attack and race their from as ki is from DBZ.

Also I'm sure you noticed the thing about the DynoCaps from DBZ. I didn't want to put in the Bleach world that they had been there all along, just never mentioned it, so I just put in that it's not a world wide company (even though for Trunks to sense her energy Karakura would have to be fairly close to West City, so we're just ignoring that fact for right now, lol).

And yakiniku (grilled meat) really is Trunks' favorite food, just letting you know so that you guys don't think I just pulled that one out.

**Hope you guys liked it. Please review and let me know what you liked/hated about it ^_^**


	6. Flying High

It had been three weeks since the training session that resulted in Tatsuki finally bringing out her reiatsu for the first time under Trunks' tutelage. She had made remarkable progress according to Trunks, though she felt she really could be going faster.

She had learned how to harness her energy to accomplish many things with it. A lot of it was fighting, but she didn't like to use the ones Trunks taught her a whole lot. They were long range attacks and she much preferred to use hand to hand combat. Eventually she planned on creating some attacks for herself so that she really could use her reiatsu in battle the way she wanted to.

But the one thing that he taught her that she truly loved was how to fly, which gave her great joy.

That was the true start for her development of learning from Trunks, and she was enjoying herself so much. She never dreamed that she would be sparing with someone while in the air. It was amazing to feel the air moving all around her body and not just around the limbs that were moving. Plus Trunks limited himself so that she could get some hits in and so she could see at least a little improvement in herself.

As of now, she was working hard to acquire as much speed as she was capable of. Hence the current spar with Trunks. Right now she knew she wasn't even close to his speed, even though she had never seen how fast he truly was. She was just a normal human after all, and even though he was part human, it didn't appear to slow him down all that much. There seemed to be no limits to his speed, she sometimes could barely see his movements, let alone keep up with them.

She knew she wasn't anywhere near his level and probably never would be. That still irritated her to no end; she wasn't used to finding someone that was stronger than her that she couldn't reach with more training besides the shinigami. Usually when she found a human stronger than her, she would train very hard until she was at their level, and then challenge them. And if she couldn't beat them, she would train some more until she could.

With Trunks that wouldn't work, even if he didn't train, she would never be able to attain his strength, endurance, and speed. But since he couldn't help the way he was born, she couldn't really be mad at him. Plus, she admired his strength, there was no one that she could think of that could take him on, and she liked that.

She continued concentrating on her sparing; Trunks never let her take it easy. She knew that if she lost concentration for even just a second, she would suffer painful consequences. He never used his full strength and speed against her, but just enough to make her work hard without over whelming her.

As a result, if he were to land a hit on her, it would be as painful as one of her stronger opponent's hit. And even though she was used to pain, and tolerated it, she never enjoyed it.

As they continued to spar she noticed that Trunks' attacks were coming a little faster and harder. He must have increased his strength a little to give her more of a challenge. She smiled wider, appreciating that he isn't trying to coddle her just because she's a human. But for some reason, his attacks just got stronger and faster. She blinked her eyes, and then when she opened her eyes she was horizontal with the wind wiping her hair up.

Through slightly blurred vision she saw Trunks' eyes widen, shock reading across his face. Apparently he was just as surprised at her fall as she was.

The next thing she knew the air was still and he held her in his arms, "Tatsuki, you alright?"

Damn but that was fast, was that just an example of how powerful he was?

"Yeah," she whispered. "I think I underestimated how much energy it takes to fight in the air."

He smiled a little and started dropping to the ground slowly. "For a first time it can take you by surprise."

Once he landed he set her on the ground, for which she was grateful. As she said before she really didn't like to be carried and hadn't needed to be since she learned how to fly.

_She was ready to do this, today is the day she would fly, no matter what. Trunks had explained about putting her reiatsu under her to cause her to go up, and she had done it, but it didn't last very long till she was forced to lower herself to the ground or she would have fallen down._

_Now she was able to do better, she had moved along the ground a bit last time, but now she really was going to fly. After only two days of practice, she could feel herself truly ready to soar._

_She closed her eyes as she gathered her reiatsu beneath her and felt herself rise into the air. When she opened her eyes again, her face lit up. She was higher than the trees, and for once she could look down and see the birds, instead of the other way around._

_She tried manipulating her reiatsu to figure out how to maneuver in the air and was quickly able to deduce how to move forward, and to go faster and slower._

_As she flew, her eyes teared up a little and she wiped them away grateful that Trunks wasn't there to see._

_"Like it?"_

_She screeched a little and as she turned to look at the intruder she lost her concentration and started falling, but then she saved herself from falling all the way by a couple feet._

_Phew, that was close._

_She let herself down the rest of the way and looked up to see Trunks hovering a little above her having a hard time keeping the amusement from his face._

_"Don't sneak up on me like that!"_

_"I figured you were able to sense me. I can sense you."_

_She folded her arms and looked away, "Well I was concentrating on controlling my energy."_

_Trunks landed in front of her, "Looked like you were doing fine to me."_

_"Well that was the first time I was able to fly like that."_

_"After only two days, that was great control. Especially since I haven't been able to be here to give you some pointers."_

_"I'm used to training myself everyday alone. To me this is training to become better at fighting and controlling myself."_

_"That's good, now all you need to do is learn how to control your movements while in the air."_

_She smirked a little, "Isn't that what I was doing?"_

_"Ha ha, yeah I suppose you're right," he had looked at her then, smiling a little. "You really are doing great."_

_She blushed a little at the praise and turned her head away to hide it, "What did you expect, I'm a fighter aren't I?"_

That day was the highlight of her training, at least for her.

She set herself down on the grass of the forested area that she and Trunks trained at and looked at the sky. There were only a few cumulus clouds in the sky, signifying that it was going to be good weather today.

* * *

Trunks smiled as she settled on the ground, and did the same with his head next to hers and his body facing the opposite direction. It was something that they always did every time that they trained together. When one of them would lie down, the other would as well and they'd watch the sky together. Sometimes they'd point out shapes that the clouds made, and other times they'd just talk.

It was during one of those times that he answered a question that she had asked him.

_Trunks had finished training Tatsuki for the day and they had been watching the sky together for about 10 minutes when he spotted a cloud that looked like it could be someone in a fighting stance with a knife. Wow, even the clouds can be about fighting sometimes._

_The idea of the figure got him thinking some, "Hey Tatsuki?"_

_"What?"_

_"Remember when I had said that the sky reflects the moods of someone who lives in the sky?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"You had asked about snow and what it would represent. I believe I have an answer now."_

_"What is it?"_

_"It's when the person feels like traveling and switches into ninja mode. They move out swiftly and silently and with barely any warning at all, just like the snow does. They are the one that keeps the weather warm, so when they go, the cold settles in until they feel like returning."_

_Trunks heard Tatsuki shift a little and her turned his head and saw that she was looking at him with a slightly awed expression on her face. "What?"_

_"That was really good."_

_He blushed a little then turned to look up at the sky again, "Thanks."_

He'd never had a chance to just relax and stare at the sky before. When the androids were around it just wasn't safe to be by himself like this. Then after they were defeated there was just so much for him to do in repairs that he still didn't have any time for himself.

So he really enjoyed the time that he was able to take a step back and just be with a friend. Because even though he started spending time with Tatsuki so he could train her, a friendship had developed between them. At least he hoped she thought of him as a friend. He was sure she did. Girls could be hard to read sometimes, but she smiled a lot when he was around her. So he assumed that she enjoyed his company, and he hoped that it wasn't just the training that she wanted to spend time with him for.

Trunks had never really taught anyone how to use their ki before; he never knew it would be this fun. He could see and feel Tatsuki progress, even if she really wasn't able to see much improvement in herself. And seeing that progress, gave him a sense of pride, he's the one that caused it and made it possible.

Not only that, but she was just so much fun to be around. She was level headed, and even though the initial reason she wanted him to train her was for her pride, he could tell that she really was very protective and worried for her friend's safety. And she would be the one to rush into a fight to prevent anyone from getting hurt that didn't deserve it. He hadn't done anything to get her angry at him yet, but he knew that if he ever did, he would suffer severe consequences. She was like his mother in that way.

She was also competitive; he knew she was still a little angry at the fact that he was so much stronger and faster than her, but she seemed to know that it really wasn't his fault so didn't take it out on him, thank goodness. He admired that fighting spirit in her and knew that when she was able to really pursue a career in vale tudo, she would go far.

Yes, he enjoyed the times they've been able to spend together.

"Hey, let's go to a hot spring. There's a good one that's nearby."

He looked at Tatsuki, that was a little unexpected. "You done training for the day?"

"Yeah, seems that I used more energy than usual today by trying to fight in the air"

"It can get tiring for someone who's not used to it. And by the way," he sat up and looked at her feeling a little guilty. "I'm sorry, I should have noticed that your energy level was dropping and that you wouldn't be able to keep up much longer. I guess I was just so into the sparing match that I wasn't paying attention."

"Oh brother, you can't be worried about that can you?" She looked at him and sat up too, "Actually, knowing you, you definitely would be. Don't worry about it. I've actually worked myself into exhaustion countless times before, so I'm used to it. "

"You could have been badly hurt if I didn't catch you because I wasn't paying attention."

"And pain is something I'm used to. True I probably would have been hurt more than usual this time, but I try to ignore what may have happened in the future, especially when it didn't happen. Anyways, if you weren't fast enough to catch me in the first place then you wouldn't have matched up to all the big talk you told me about being faster than humans."

Trunks chuckled a little, "That's true. I wouldn't have been much of a Saiyan if I couldn't keep up with you if you were just falling."

"Now, about that hot spring, their best pool is coed. So if you and I rent some suits we can do that one. If you don't mind that is."

"No, that's fine. As long as we're wearing suits I don't mind at all."

"Alright then, let's go."

* * *

**A/N: Ok guys, I'm really really really really really sorry for not updating sooner. Things haven't been going very well in my life and had to move to a completely different state. So I haven't really been able to do any writing for this one, and my Soul Eater fanfic. So I hope you guys can forgive me *bows apologetically***

**So if you guys couldn't tell yet I'm treating DBZ's ki, and Bleach's reiatsu as the same thing, even though I know technically they really aren't. So I hope you guys enjoy it anyways.**


	7. His First Hotspring Experience

They did indeed go to the hot spring as Tatsuki had advised. In fact the people at the counter greeted her as if they were good friends, so she must come here often. During the greeting exchange, Trunks just hung back and observed the place.

It really was a beautiful hot spring. It was a public bath house that had indoor pools, and onsen pools. The front of it was a traditional Japanese style house with sōzu style shishi-odoshi fountains, and bonsai trees of varying styles and sizes.

"This is Trunks, he's new here in town."

He turned his attention back to Tatsuki and the hostesses and bowed, "A pleasure to meet you."

"Oh he's a nice one Tatsuki, great catch," they said quietly to Tatsuki, followed by giggles. He figured he wasn't supposed to hear that, but with his hearing, he did.

Tatsuki instantly blushed and said, "What are you guys talking about, I'm just showing him around to the best places in town."

They giggle some more, "Well if you don't want him, I'll take him."

One of the girls approached him and bowed, "Hello and welcome to the hot springs," she straightened and stepped a little closer as she looked at him a little seductively. "We hope you enjoy your stay."

Trunks could feel his face heat up and took a step back, "Uhhhh…"

Then Tatsuki's hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back.

"Leave him alone, he's not interested!"

The girl froze, a hint of fear showing on her face. Then Tatsuki grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the hallway that led to the lockers.

"What did you do that for?"

"Don't tell me you actually like that kind of girl."

"Well no, not really, but you didn't have to be rude."

Her shoulders seemed to relax a bit, "With those girls, yes you do."

She stopped in front of the doors to the lockers and turned towards him, her expression unreadable, "Now, I paid for us to get a private pool that allows swimsuits. So get changed and I'll meet you outside."

"Wait, you paid for it?"

"Well yeah, it was the only way to quickly leave those leaches behind. Plus just because you're a guy, doesn't mean you have to pay for everything. Especially since this isn't a date." A light blush appeared on Tatsuki's cheeks as she abruptly turned and walked into the female's locker room.

Trunks stared at the doorway she disappeared into for a few seconds then grinned. Yeah, she sure was something else. She wasn't even afraid stop someone's behavior if she thought they were out of line. He had a feeling that if the girl hadn't stopped, then she would have even used violence; and had in the past, if the girl's expression was any kind of indicator.

She also wouldn't let him pay for everything, but also would let him be the gentleman he is if the situation called for it.

He turned and walked into the men's changing room.

* * *

Damn those girls! Not only did they try and flirt with Trunks, who clearly didn't appreciate it, but they had to go and give her this kind of suit. They could claim that it was the only kind they had at the time all they want, but she knew they were trying to set her up for embarrassment. They knew she hated these kinds of swim suits, it exposed a lot more than she was usually willing to show.

Which is why she had her towel wrapped around her when she came out of the changing room and sat on the wooden deck chairs that were there and looked at the scenery. It really was beautiful; she just loved the traditional style of gardens with the sōzu style shishi-odoshi fountains; rocks that at first seem random but symbolized just about anything, rivers, lakes, mountains or even a desert. The stone lanterns were one of her favorite parts, they were so intricate, and beautiful; to her they were like the sun that lit their own little earths.

"Peaceful, isn't it?"

She jumped a little and turned her head to see Trunks staring across the garden as she had been. And without a shirt, just with a dark blue set of swimming trunks and a white towel around the back of his neck with the ends running down his chest.

She'd seen him in his black tank top once, but that didn't compare to his bare chest. The muscles were perfectly proportioned and even on both sides. A lot of men were at least a little lopsided because they favored their right side, but not him. He evidently worked hard to make sure both left and right would be equal in a fight. And neither were they over large, she hated when the male muscles were too large for their body types. They looked like they had been taking steroids since they were babies. But Trunks was perfect.

She turned her slightly heated face away before he could catch her staring and said, "Yes, it is."

They both sat and stood there looking at the wondrous garden for a few seconds more then she stood up. "Well, let's get to our pool. I don't know about you but I could sure use a nice hot bath."

Without waiting for a response she started walking towards the pool she had rented. She and Orihime would come here on occasion so she knew exactly where it was.

"I've actually never been to a hot spring, this should be good."

She stopped and looked back at him a little surprised, "Really? Why not?"

He looked a little hesitant, then rubbed the back of his head a little and looked to the side. "Well, never really had the chance, I grew up in a…. a rough neighborhood."

She continued to look at him a little puzzled, but decided not to push it. "Oh, I see. Well you are going to have a chance now. And this is definitely a really good one, so this will give you a great experience for your first time." She smiled reassuringly at him the turned and continued to their bath.

The pool had a tall fence surrounding it so it was private, which is how she preferred it. She did not like to expose her body to hundreds of people, it made her feel vulnerable. So she gave a sigh of relief when the gate to the pool closed concealing them from the rest of the world.

"You alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She didn't elaborate; he didn't need to know something like that about her. She didn't mind it so much when it was in front of just one person, so she was blushing only a little when she had her back to him and removed the white towel to reveal the deep red halter top bikini.

* * *

He had almost said more than he was supposed to earlier. He didn't want her to know that he was from the future, at the very least not now. He wasn't sure how she'd react to that, and he didn't want to ruin the relationship they enjoyed so far.

When they entered into the pool area, he had been curious at the obvious relief she felt. He wasn't sure on what the cause of it was. She hadn't really seemed that uncomfortable outside. He was about to ask her if she was sure that she was alright, and then she removed the towel from around her. And even though he could only see her back at the moment, he was impressed.

She was completely toned, and the red of the suit she wore set off her tanned skin just perfectly. And he could see the corded muscle underneath the velvet smooth skin of her arms and legs, especially when she moved to turn towards him. He tried to fix his expression so she wouldn't think he was a creeper or anything, but kept looking at her so he could see what she looked like from the front.

Her abs were just as toned as her back, he could even see some muscle definition there, which is rather rare in a female. And not only did the red suit heightened her skin tone, but it also really brought out the brown of her eyes.

Even though he took all that in in an instant, she blushed a little when he looked at her and turned her face away. "The suit wasn't my idea, it was the one that they gave me and also said it was the only one of my size that they had."

Ah, so that was it. She was embarrassed to expose her body in front of everyone out there. He admired her modesty, there weren't many girls out there with a sense of modesty anymore, "You look great, don't worry."

She looked up at him surprised a little, then blushed some more. "Well, you get in first, it is your first time in a hot spring after all."

"No, ladies first," he insisted.

She smirked a little and rested her hands on her hips, "Dude, I ain't a lady. Now get in."

That surprised him a little, but since she insisted he removed the towel from around his neck, setting it on one of the chairs there, and turned towards the pool stepping up to the edge. The water was a clear blue with a little steam rising from the liquid, signaling how warm it promised to be. He reached his right foot out and his toes touched the water.

Wow, it was indeed warm. He lowered his foot farther in and rested on a ledge for him to sit and then took another step into the deeper part of the pool and sat down.

This was tons better than a conventional bath in a bath tub ever could be. The minerals in the water just seeped right into his tired muscles and started relaxing them. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

He heard a little splashing somewhat near him and opened his eyes to see Tatsuki stepping into the water as well with a smile on her face. "Like it?"

"Yes, it's wonderful," he smiled back.

"Good," she leaned back against the edge as well.

He turned his head and looked up into the sky thinking. It sure was nice of Tatsuki to bring him here, she could have just come by herself after he left, she didn't need to bring him, so why did she? The only reason he could think of is that she really did consider him a friend. That idea made him smile, but his heart clenched just a little at that thought.

Is that how she felt about him? Just a friend? Then he pondered why that should matter to him. He was very grateful to have a friend that wasn't originally a member of the Z Fighters, meaning one he made himself. Shouldn't he be glad that she was his friend? But is that all he wanted from her?

He looked over at her and noticed she was staring at him, and from the way she blushed and how quickly she turned away, she probably had been staring for quite a while.

"What?"

"Nothing," she said in a nervous voice without turning around.

What was that about? He had a possible idea, but he wasn't sure. Was it feasible she really did care for him more than just a friend? He felt butterflies in his stomach at the possibility; he wanted to act upon that. But what if he was wrong? What if he ruined their entire relationship and she'd never want to talk to him again.

Well, he'd never know till he tried. So even though the butterflies in his stomach flew around more rampant, he drew closer to her. She turned her head towards him when she heard the water stir, and then he was right next to her.

He reached his dripping hand to her face and caressed her soft cheek. "What would you do if I were to kiss you?"

She gaped at him a little and he could sense a little fear from her so he backed away a little, "I won't till I receive an answer."

He was a gentleman after all.

* * *

While Trunks had been staring up at the sky she turned her head towards him slightly and looked at him from the corner of her eye.

His middle length lavender hair framed his face with two short strands down his forehead as bangs. The color set off his brilliant blue eyes perfectly. He really was handsome, she really didn't blame those girls for wanting him, but they were so irritating, how dare they hit on him like that?

Wait, why did it matter that they flirted with him? She'd seen plenty of girls try to flirt with Ichigo and it highly amused her. So why was it different with Trunks? He obviously wasn't interested, and so wouldn't do anything, but it still ticked her off that they would even try. And she was relieved when he said that type of girl didn't interest him, so why did it bother her?

No, no, no, no, she could not be falling for him. She's only known him for about a month, and been training with him for only 3 weeks. That's really not enough time, especially for her. She hated guys for the most part, with only a couple exceptions. They were arrogant jerks who thought they were so much stronger than her just because she was a girl. They were just plain weak.

But Trunks wasn't weak, that's something she really admired about him. He was someone she could train and spar with for a long time, and still get a challenge. He also was nice, thoughtful, and when she would let him, a gentleman.

Best of all, he didn't see her as weak.

It was then that Trunks turned towards her, and she realized that while she was watching him, she had turned her head all the way to look at him, and not just out of the corner of her eye.

She felt heat rise to her cheeks as she quickly turned her head away.

"What?" he had asked.

"Nothing," she had responded a little nervously. She really wasn't sure yet.

Then she heard the water splash a little and turned to find him coming closer with a small smile on his face.

He raised his hand out of the water and felt it rest against her cheek dripping a little.

"What would you do if I kiss you?"

With that one question, she felt her heart beat faster, a little in hope, and a little in fear. Would he really just go and steal her first kiss without a second thought even if she told him not to? She didn't think so, but he could have been hiding a sinister motive behind that wonderful exterior.

But then he surprised her a little when he pulled back and said, "I won't till I receive an answer."

Really? He wouldn't? Then he really was sincere, and it also meant that he actually liked her. She felt relieved at that thought, and realized that she really was afraid that he only saw her as a friend. That she wanted more than that from him.

She decided to act before she lost her nerve.

Before he moved more than a couple inches, she reached her hand up and behind his neck, smiled, then leaned in and kissed him herself.

It probably wasn't much of a kiss really. Gentle, she hadn't ever kissed anyone before, yet it was also a firm kiss. She never did anything weakly.

When he didn't respond right away, she was afraid she had over stepped herself, but it was only about a half second hesitation before he kissed her back, pressing his lips harder against hers.

She literally could feel a great heat that spread from her lips to fill her entire being, right down to her soul. In fact when they tentatively pulled away, she found that wasn't enough, she wanted more.

He must have as well because they both leaned forward to kiss again, this time a little more aggressively.

He wrapped one of his hands around her waist and pulled her against him. Somehow the skin on skin touch of their abs coupled with the heat of the spring water heightened the wonderful feeling spreading through her and she wrapped her arms around his neck wanting to share the sensation with the one that was making her feel it.

* * *

He was a little surprised when Tatsuki kissed him herself, but then he instinctively responded to the kiss. He had never felt anything like it in his life, even the power that rushed into him when he became a Super Saiyan for the first time.

The initial kiss had been tentative, but firm. As if she wasn't too sure of herself. They pulled apart, but he couldn't handle just that short little kiss, he needed more.

He kissed her again hungrily and instinctively wrapped his arm around her slender waist and pulled her against him. She just felt so right, like she belonged there. She responded by wrapping both her arms about his neck.

Their lips move in synch with each other's naturally, soon his tongue seemed to develop a mind of its own and glided across her lips. Her mouth opened a little in surprise and his tongue shot between her lips and encircled around her tongue squeezing tightly.

Damn but she tasted good; he couldn't get over the sensations flowing through his body. Especially where her bare skin touched his, it was rather intoxicating. He couldn't get enough, even when she fought back with her tongue and he realized that she wouldn't just lay back and let him take control. He was going to have to fight for it.

He smiled into the kiss and accepted the challenge as he leaned back against the edge of the pool pulling around so she was in front of him. She rested her knees on the ledge he was sitting on and squeezed his hips slightly, extracting a slight moan from his lips.

She seemed to glow in triumph for making him moan like that, so the hand that was still caressing her cheek lowered down to her butt and squeezed. She didn't just moan, she gasped in pleasure opening her mouth wider. He took advantage of her momentary distraction and gained control of the kiss.

He didn't know how long the fight for dominance continued, and half the time he couldn't even remember where they were, but he certainly did remember when they both lost their breath and she leaned against him sitting on his lap.

He still had his arms around her waist and hip and she rest her head against his chest with a palm almost cupping one the pectoral that wasn't covered by her cheek.

Trunks couldn't get over the fact that his first kiss had been such an incredible one from an incredible woman.

He smiled as he recalled something she said earlier.

"You know you were right earlier," he whispered.

"Hmm?"

"This was a great experience for my first hotspring."

On his chest he could feel a small smile from her lips.

* * *

**A/N: Wow, this is a lot longer than I usually write, lol. Oh well, I enjoyed writing it. I'm sorry for taking so long with this chapter, I had a major writers block. It took writing a fanfic with only a four day time frame to actually get me back into writing and past my block. So even though I didn't win the contest with it, I'm really glad I wrote it. ^_^**

**So, this is the last chapter of this story, but worry not faithful readers. I am going to write a series of one shots and/or mini series that branch off from this story. I just can't leave this couple alone, they're really good together. And yes Scion 141, that means that Trunks is going to meet the rest of the Bleach crew. I also need to include a story when Tatsuki first shows her new abilities too, lol.**

**Hope you all enjoyed the ride.**

**Update: I have now continued this in my story called Trunks and Tatsuki Stories. Lame title I know, but it'll work till I come up with another title. Have fun**


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